On the Run (Honeyrose34)
By: Honeyrose34 Note: Expect weird spacing possibly. Sorry! Do not edit withour my permission first. Thanks! :D 1 I curled up next to my mother, inhaling her sweet scent, never wanting to leave. I should watch what I say. It was about early dawn when we heard the first twig crack. My mother’s ears flicked up as she scanned the woods. After a moment, she turned her alarm off and continued to lick my sister, Squirrel, asleep. I too ignored the cause of the noise. Probably just a clumsy deer traveling by. I realized I was very wrong when we heard another, even closer this time. Mother was up in a heartbeat, ready to fight off the intruders. “They found us!” my mother harshly whispered. My brother and sister were now wide-eyed and close to bawling their whiskers off. “It’s okay,” I said, soothing the whimpers and causing them to curl up next to me. I looked up as the first cat came through the surrounding woods. “Ah! Berry. Long time, no see,” The tom was a dark gray color, easy to blend into the shadows; possibly the reason why we couldn’t see him until the last second. “Stuff your tail in it, Hornet. You know we have no quarrels with Bone,” I was surprised my mother had such a ferocious tone. Scared of Mother’s voice, Beetle and Squirrel whimpered again and I licked the top of their heads, “Sssh.” Hornet’s eyes now focused on us. His amber eyes swam with interest, “Kits? Huh, I didn’t think Ocher was that kind of tom.” My mother hissed at the mention of my father. She told me when I was younger that he had died in an accident. She didn’t go into detail, so I never pushed it. “Don’t you dare mention Ocher. And don’t you dare touch my kits.” The tom looked genuinely hurt, “I would never do such a thing, Berry. We just came to talk. Promise.” Mother’s hackles started to lower, but I could tell she didn’t trust Hornet, “Fine. Talk.” Hornet cleared his throat before continuing, “Bone wants you to know that he recognizes that you and your kits want to live in peace…” Mother didn’t say anything but nodded her head for him to continue. “…but he wants something in return.” She narrowed her eyes at this, “Prey?” she guessed. “Kinda,” Hornet’s mouth twitched, “Your oldest son.” Mother’s hackles were back up in a heartbeat, as were mine. They couldn’t take me away! And do what with me? Eat me!? “Never!” Her creamy fur bristled like a porcupine’s. Hornet shrugged, “Okay. You have three days to leave or else.” I gulped. I knew what ‘or else’ meant. As Hornet turned to leave, Mother got on her feet and padded over to him, “I will never leave my home.” Hornet grinned, “Okay. See you in three days, Berry. And kits.” And before I knew it, the gray tom was part of the shadows once more. 2 “Mamma? Aren’t we gonna leave?” whispered Squirrel. Tiny, brave Squirrel… “No. I’m going to stay here. I promised your father I would never leave. And I’m keeping that promise.” “I? What about us?” I dared to peep out. I could almost feel our former friendly home turn nasty swiftly. “Yes, I. I’m sending you three to safety,” My heart dropped when Mother said this. She was leaving us. “But-, “Her cream-colored tail covered my mouth. She looked at me with warm eyes, “To safety. I’m making sure you’re safe in my sister’s paws. She lives two sunrises away. You three will hitchhike there tonight, under my careful instructions. Can you do this for me, Hopper?” I nod, but inside, everything is twisted up. “Do you remember how to get to Moon’s hollow?” My mother asks me as she pries a clingy Beetle off of her. I nod. “Leave Bone’s territory until you reach an open plain. Follow the line of the woods until you reach a cliff. There is a small cave before the edge where we go down. The tunnel opens up to a meadow. Go to the creek straight ahead. Moon’s hollow is in the reeds. Did I get that right?” “Perfect,” She purred. Even though I will never see my mother again, she seems positive. I could never do that. She knows she will die, yet she keeps moving forward. I will miss that. I look again into her warm, blue eyes before meowing to my brother and sister, “It’s time we go.” “Bye bye, Momma! See you soon!” “Bye! Love you.” I’m not brave enough to tell them that we won’t see her soon. “Bye,” My voice cracks on the last note, “Love you.” As I guide Squirrel and Beetle into the woods, I hear Mother mew, “Love you too.” 3 My paws ache, but I don’t dare stop. We aren’t out of the woods yet and I promised Mother I wouldn’t stop until we were out of Bone’s territory. I can tell Squirrel is having a hard time, but she doesn’t complain. Neither does Beetle. But as the weakest, I carry him. It isn’t until we start to see the horizon through the trees does Squirrel ask, “Who’s Bone, anyway?” I set Beetle down so that he can walk again,“Um...” I try to remember what Mother had told me about him. “He’s a-a bad tom. He’s black and gray and white and has a lot of scars. He doesn’t like kits and he doesn’t like cats who don’t listen to him. Bone wants to rule the whole forest without trouble, and when there is trouble, he sends other cats to work it out.” “Like Hornet?” replies Beetle. He tries to hop over a rock, but misses it and lands on it. I smile and grab his scruff to put him on the other side. “Yes. Like Hornet.” “Why did they want you?” probes the creamy furred she-kit. “Bone trains young cats, not kits, to be part of his army. That happened to Momma and Daddy. That’s how they met.” Beetle runs ahead and turns around to face me, “So, Momma and Daddy got in trouble and ran away, like us?” “Yep. And since they didn’t like being mean like Bone, they left.” “And Bone didn’t like that?” guesses Squirrel. “Correct.” “So he wants to hurt Momma?” This next question stops me for a second. Beetle and Squirrel pull back too and come over to me. “Are you okay, Hopper?” “Yeah. I’m fine. And yes, Bone does want to hurt Momma.” “So she sent us away so he wouldn’t hurt us too,” Squirrel was smart, I’ll give her that. “Right.” Beetle’s eyes flickered around warily, “Can we go now, Hopper?” “Of course, Beetle. Come on, Squirrel, we’re going home.” Not long after, the three of us finally reach the edge of the trees. We’re free. I also can’t help but feel like I’ve left a piece of me behind. I hope Mother was okay. I lead the kits over to a pile of rocks. I can almost see the cliffs in the distance. One more night and we’ll be home free. “We’ll stay here tonight,” Squirrel plops down on the ground as soon as I finish talking. Beetle has already laid down, the gentle rise and fall of his chest tells me that he has fallen asleep. “I’ll go get some prey. Stay here and watch over your brother.” I order this in a kind voice, but the words are strong. Squirrel nods and I pad over to some brambles. The scent of mouse wafts through the air. I taste the air again and find that it’s fresh. I follow the trail to the bottom of a tree. I crouch there, waiting, until I see a leaf rustle. I keep my breath still as a nose peeks out and sniffs the air. I thank the wind for blowing the opposite direction. I wait until the mouse is fully out from the leaf until I start to drag myself across the grass. I’m careful to move silently and weightlessly to not alarm the prey. When I’m in a good distance, I wiggle my haunches to leap. But before I can, a flash of ginger comes out from the woods. I hiss in alarm and startle the mouse. It runs into a hole before I can catch it. I frown but focus my attention on the ginger cat that just appeared. I’m scared that the cat is dangerous so I keep low. I want to find shelter in a tree but I swiftly remember I have companions. I look around frantically for that pile of rocks, but the sun has gone down and I can no longer see as far. I dare to breathe out Squirrels name, hopeful that the rocks are nearby. No such luck. I turn around again to see the ginger cat, but it’s gone. Where did they go!? I scent the air to find Beetle and Squirrel once more. Instead, I scent an unfamiliar scent. I start to turn around when claws reach my shoulders. I hiss in fury and try to get the intruder off of my back, but to no avail. I turn my head around to see that it was that mysterious ginger cat. “Who are you?” I gasp. The cat doesn’t reply but digs their claws in deeper. “What do you want? I come in peace!” I dig my claws into the ground to try to buck them off. Their grip loosens and I can pull away. I turn to face a--she-cat! And she’s not much older than me, “Who are you?” I demand again, “Are you part of Bone’s army?” The she-cat’s eyes burn into mine now, “Never!” She screeches, “Are you?” “I’m running from him.” She seems to trust me more now, “My name is Scarlet.” “Hopper.” Her hackles lower as she grins, “That’s an interesting name, Hopper.” 4 “Do you have no Daddy too?” “Where are your brothers and sisters?” “Is your Mommy brave?” Scarlet never left any of Beetle’s or Squirrel’s questions unanswered. “Yes, both of my parents died.” “I have none.” “Yes. Yes she was.” I can’t help but feel bad for the ginger she-cat. Though, I feel if I were to comfort her with a lick, I would get a scratched ear in return. “Cool!” Squirrel no longer seems tired. She’s hopping around and pouncing on her brother as if she would never grow sleepy. “Like your name,” comments Scarlet. I purr in agreement and grab my sister off of Beetle. “Come on. Let’s sleep now. We have a long journey ahead of us,” Squirrel doesn’t complain and climbs into our makeshift nest. “Journey?” Scarlet echoes. “Yeah, we’re running from Bone to our aunt’s hollow.” “Did he want you?” “Yes.” “I was wanted for his army too. Hornet came to tell my parents, and they refused to let me go. Three days later, Hornet came back. With'' friends. I ran as my parents were slaughtered.” “I’m sorry,” I frown and gently rest my tail on her shoulders. She doesn’t shake it off for a while, as she relives her horrible memory. “I ran and they never caught me. I’ve been living in this open field for a few moons now, nobody comes or goes. Except you three.” “Nobody? Is this really so safe, being close to the woods?” Scarlet shrugs, shaking my tail off of her at the same time. I don’t bother putting it back, “This area doesn’t belong to anybody; I don’t know why he wouldn’t want this.” “Maybe Bone is scared of something here.” Scarlet looks at me in surprise. “Bone. Ha! He’s scared of nothing. He’s not scared to rule a forest. He’s not scared to kill in cold-blood. Nobody can stop him. Do you really think he’s ''scared?” I bristle at her harsh tone, “Fine. I guess I was wrong.” Scarlet jumps off of the rock pile, careful not to step on my sleeping kin. “Sorry. It’s the truth, Hopper.” She glanced at me again before she started to trot off into the shadows. “Wait!” I call her back. She doesn’t turn around but she stops, “What?” “Come with us. Please. Squirrel and Beetle like you,” I wasn’t lying. Squirrel and Beetle did seem to like Scarlet. But I don’t think they felt like they needed her like I did. Scarlet still didn’t turn around when she meowed, “Okay.” I guess she needed other cats to keep sane. 5 I roll onto my back and glance at the sky. Dawn streaks the horizon around me, turning the entire forest a golden sheen. It was beautiful. I glance over to my right where Squirrel and Beetle are wrapped up in Scarlet’s thick, ginger fur. She barely seems to care that they love her so much, but I can tell that she feels something back. As if I had woken her up, Scarlet starts to blink open her eyes. “Hopper?” she asks with a harsh, barely awake voice. “Yeah?” I whisper back. I pad over and drag one of the kits off of her so that she could talk better. “Thanks,” She replies, “But-um…when were you thinking we should leave here? I normally leave here and come back at night. I don’t trust the woods too much.” I couldn’t help but agree more about the feeling of the woods behind us, “When the kits are ready.” She nods and starts to doze off again she mews, “Thanks for…,” She gestures to the kits, “…this.” “Come on let’s go,” Beetle pounces on me with an oof. “One second,” I finish my last bite of vole hastily. I shove Beetle off of me and grab Squirrel off of Scarlet. “Come on. Since you guys wanted to leave so quickly, let’s go.” Scarlet hasn’t said anything to me since earlier this morning, and I’m a bit taken aback. “Scarlet?” “Uh-huh?” She sounds distracted as she scans the forest. “Is it safe?” I ask nonchalantly. What I really wanted to say was, “Oh, Scarlet. By the way, you’re really pretty.” Or maybe, “Oh, what’s up? I think you’re the most amazing cat ever, even though you attacked me.” But…I couldn’t. “Hopper.” I start to slowly back out of my daydream. “Yeah? Is it safe?” “Hopper,” Her voice is shaky. I glance at her. “What’s wrong?” I demand. “Hornet.” “What!?” I screech and when I follow her eyesight, I find that she’s right. My worst nightmare just came true. Before I can do anything, I see a dark gray tom and five other cats ooze out of the surrounding woods. “I’ll get the kits,” I don’t say anything when Scarlet meows this. She just goes over to Squirrel and Beetle and drags them back over to us. “What do we do?” “I don’t know. They must have been mad enough to get my mother and come back after us.” Scarlet rolled her eyes, “What do we do? Not what we think the backstory is.” “Fine,” I growl, “We can’t be too far from the cave. Want to make a run for it?” “With the kits?” she frowned. What are we going to do? We’re going to die. I either take Scarlet and leave Squirrel and Beetle or I could just run myself…What am I talking about? I made a promise to Mother. I would protect these two until the day I die, because she can’t. “We’ll have to make do,” I grab the Beetle’s scruff and start to make a run for it. As soon as I leave the cover of the pile of rocks, Hornet spots me. “There!” he screeches, “There’s Berry and Ocher’s eldest! Get him!” At his order, two toms start to make their way towards us. I feel Beetle starting to squirm in my mouth and I mumble for him to stop as I start to weave myself through thickets of gorse and rocks. One of the toms, a tabby, was gaining a lead on the other tom on reaching us. I try to turn my head around to see if I could spot Scarlet and Squirrel but I was afraid that if I did, I would immediately run into a rock or something. Just weave through this. Don’t stop until you reach the cliff. Squirrel is waiting there with Scarlet. Scarlet… I barely feel pain as I hit the ground. Nor do I feel his claws ripping into my fur. I do, though, feel fear. I’m going to die. I am going to die. '' ''“No! Don’t hurt my brother! Hopper! Fight back, Hopper!” ''I can barely hear Beetle, his voice and everything else sounds like I’m underwater. ''“Hopper!” I hear Beetle cry once more. “I’m sorry,” I whisper as everything goes black. 6 Bird song fills the air and sunlight filters towards me through the branches of trees. “Am I dead?” I wonder. Out loud I call, “Beetle? Squirrel? Scarlet? Mother?” No answer. “Where am I?” I ask again. Behind me, someone clears their throat. I turn and face a yellowish-brown tom; the exact carbon copy of me. “Father?” I whisper. The tom smiled, “Yes, son. I am so proud of you.” “But I died,” I reply back sourly. “No, I did,” meowed Ocher. “I-I’m not dead?” I ask astonished. Is this just a dream? Ocher looked at me with sorrow now, ”Not yet. But close enough to bring you here.” “Where is here?” Ocher swept his tail around, letting me take in the entire place, “This is Utopia.” “Utopia,” I whisper, “Paradise.” “Exactly.” For a few moments, the two of us walk side-by-side for the first time. My father talks about how proud he is of all three of us and comments on the beauty of Scarlet. “It doesn’t get any better than that,” he chuckled. When we finally reach an open stream, Ocher looks me in the eye and says, “Look.” I obey and look into the stream. At first, I see nothing until I finally spot a blurry figure. Me. “That’s me,” I comment. Ocher grunts in agreement and meows, “Look closer.” I do and I start to see something behind my head. Another head. A creamy-furred head with bright blue eyes. “Mother!” I cry. I turn around to see the one cat I missed more than my father. “Oh, Hoppy. I’m so proud of you.” “You’re dead, aren’t you?” “Yes, sweetie. But I will never die in your heart; nor in your brother or sister.” Ocher comes back into view again and licks the side of Mother’s head, “Welcome home, Berry.” As quickly it started, it ended. Before I knew it, my parents started to fade. “Wait!” I cry. “Find Moon. Take care of the kits!” Mother calls back. “Get the she-cat!” chuckles my father. “I love you guys!” I reply before, yet again, everything goes black. I gasp, struggling to take in air. Everything is still black, but I don’t care; I’m alive. “He’s alive!” cries the familiar voice of Squirrel. Beetle sticks his muzzle into mine, “Are you sure?” “Yes,” I cough, “I’m alive.” I realize that I can see the moment I spot Scarlet in the back, “Scarlet?” “You almost died. Like my parents. All thanks to Bone and Hornet.” “But I’m not,” I try to comfort the distant she-cat, but she doesn’t budge. She turns her back on me when she meows, “I got all of us down in the cave after Hornet thought you died. He retreated and I dragged you here.” I lay there for a moment, taking in Scarlet’s harshness. It was just the shock, right? Of losing me? Or just reliving her parents’ death over again? Was it all of the above? Squirrel pokes me in the shoulder, “Don’t fall asleep again. We need our Hoppy.” I swallow hard at Mother’s nickname for me. Mother...she’s dead. I shake my head as I meow, “Right. No sleepy, more Hoppy.” “Careful. Those cuts are deep. Just…stay there. It’s already dusk.” That’s all Scarlet says to me before she pads out of the cave and back into field. “Ignore her, Hopper. She’s scared that she almost lost you. She really likes you,” smirks Beetle. “He he, yeah. She almost cried.” “She did?” My heart stops. I made her suffer. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine once she knows you're fine.” 7 “Mother said the journey through the tunnel should take most of the day until we finally reach the meadow,” I note, remember almost every lesson from Mother before we left, “There should also be an underground stream about half-way through.” “Fine,” replies Scarlet as she picks a clump of dirt from her claws. “Okay…Squirrel and Beetle, are you guys ready?” “Yep!” They chorused together. I led the three of them behind me as I remembered every twist and turn I had memorized from Mother. Left, left, right, straight, expect dip, right…and so on. By the time we had reached the stream, as promised, the kits were already being carried by Scarlet and I. We set them down gently as we all took a long, refreshing drink. “Come on.” I didn’t want to waste any more time, I could feel how close we were. Scarlet didn’t say anything but picked Beetle back up and hopped over the stream. I grabbed Squirrel and followed. She let me take the lead as we started back up again. Right, left, straight, straight, slope up, right, left… “Are we there, yet?” “No.” I mumbled. “Are we there yet?” “No, Squirrel.” “Are we-we’re here!” Squirrel squirmed in my mouth and I set her down. She ran ahead the last few pawsteps. Sunlight poured in from a rabbit-sized hole in the ceiling of the tunnel. Scarlet set Beetle down and growled, “How do we get out now?” “Try to make the hole bigger. I’ll hop up and you can hand me the kits.” “Fine,” Scarlet didn’t complain as she got up on her hind-legs and clawed at the hole. Clumps of earth and roots rained down on our heads, leaving the kits to wail. “Sssh! We don’t know who’s out there,” I said, cautious about the easy retreat of Hornet. Scarlet stepped back to examine her work, “It’ll do.” “Alright.” I started to bunch up my muscles to leap when Scarlet placed her paw gentle on my shoulder. “Be careful,” she whispered. Her amber eyes glowed with sorrow as I bunched up my muscles again. I nodded and leaped. I cleared the distance just fine and scrambled to keep my hind legs from falling back in. I scan the area around the hole and find nothing but flowers. It was the meadow. “It’s all clear!” I call back into the hole. “Here’s Beetle,” replied Scarlet’s voice. As soon as she finished, a pale gray head appeared. I grabbed his scruff and pulled him back to solid ground. “Squirrel,” Scarlet mewed, handing him the lively kit. “Hey!” she protested when I grabbed her scruff and put her next to her littermate. “Okay, come on up, Scarlet.” I pushed back the kits to give her room to leap. I started to see Scarlet’s ears when I heard her screech. I no longer saw her ginger head and now saw the head of Hornet. “Ah, so Boulder didn’t kill you. I was right,” smiled the tom. “What do you want? We aren’t on Bone’s territory anymore,” I demanded. The tom laughed. I started to realize that he had a friend; the same one who almost killed me. “Boulder, get the she-cat to shut up.” Boulder obeyed Hornet’s command, scratching Scarlet’s beautiful ginger muzzle. “NO!” I yowled. “What do you want, Hornet?” “You,” grinned the murderer. “Fine,” I started to make my way down the tunnel again when Scarlet whimpered, “No! It’s a trap, Hopper!” “I know.” “Don’t do it. Don’t do it for me. Get Squirrel and Beetle to Moon.” I stared back at her, “I’m doing this for you, whether you like it or not. If they take me, they’ll leave you. Then you can take the kits.” “No, please!” sobbed Scarlet as I hopped back down next to Hornet. “Okay, Hornet. You got what you wanted. Take me and leave Scarlet alone.” Hornet shrugged, “Leave the she-cat alone, Boulder.” He turned back to me. “Come on, Hopper. Let’s go meet Bone.” “No!” howled Scarlet as Hornet led me back through the tunnel, following our scent trail, “Hopper!” Night had fallen by the time the three of us had reached the end of the tunnel, and the rest of my kin behind. “I’m sorry I failed you Mother” A gentle breeze went by, tickling my nose and ears. It also carried a message'', “Not yet, my son. Not yet.”'' Mother was right. Not yet. “So, Hornet...,” I meowed casually, “Do you know what happened to my father?” “Yeah,” Hornet flicked his tail, “He’s dead.” “That’s where you’re wrong.” Hornet stopped short, “He’s alive?” “Yep,” I smirked, “Alive and well.” “He can’t be. I killed him myself!” “What!?” I growled. I took advantage of Hornet being distracted and pounced. I landed on his back, pushing him back on the ground. “Oof!” breathed the gray tom. He struggled to get up, but years of heavy eating finally paid off. I put my muzzle by his ear, breathing into it hard saying, “I know he’s dead, fox-dung. We recently met after my quarrel with your friend, Boulder.” Hearing his name, Hornet cried out, “Boulder! Boulder, help me!” I too hadn’t seen the tom for a while. My fur prickled, waiting for him to launch an attack when I heard a voice. “He’s dead,” I turn and face...Scarlet. “You came after me,” I breathed. “Looks like you were planning to come back anyway,” Scarlet replied, gesturing towards the pinned-down Hornet. “Oh, this. This is nothing.” I grin. “Yeah, well Boulder didn’t bother putting up much of a fight either.” I hold up my tail to pause Scarlet while I bend down and bite Hornet’s neck. A few moments after weak struggling, my father’s murderer is dead. I get off of his body, kicking dust and mud into his face declaring, “That was for my father, fox-dung.” Scarlet rested her muzzle on my shoulder, “He killed your father?” “Kinda already knew. It isn’t too hard to figure out your choices of murderers.” Scarlet pulled back, resting her amber eyes on my yellow. “I love you so much,” I blurt out, too fast to stop myself. I covered my muzzle with my tail, to stop myself from say anything else stupid. Scarlet buried her muzzle in my flank saying, “I love you too.” 8 “After you had left, I got the kits to Moon. She welcomed them without question. I then came charging back after you, wasting no time. Then I cut Boulder from the group and killed him. Finally, here we are,” Scarlet meowed as we walked back through the tunnels, filling my in. “Impressive,” I comment. Scarlet licked her chest fur down like it was nothing, “Thanks.” We walked in silence for a while, side-by-side. We linked tails and matched our steps. It wasn’t long until we reached the opening again. Dawn streaked the sky and bird song filled the air once more. “Scarlet?” I asked, facing my new mate. “Yes?” she tilted her head in confusion. “Let’s go home,” And with that, I jumped up and out of the tunnel, waiting for Scarlet. She giggled and hopped up next to me. “Just like your name,” she commented. “Just like my name.” Writer's Note Thanks for reading! I hope this does well in RedPandaPotter's contest and that you tell others about this story. I worked hard, don't let my work go to waste! Also, I'm sorry for the weird spacing, I copied it off of Microsoft Word. :/ Again, thanks for reading. :D --[[User:Honeyrose34|'No.']]''' I did not eat your mouse''' 23:45, June 12, 2012 (UTC) Category:Honeyrose34's Fanfictions